The US Mariner 9 was launched – it went on to become the first satellite to orbit Mars.
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NASA's Endeavour Space Shuttle landed for its 25th and final time.
After countless failures, North Korea launched its first satellite.
NASA's New Horizons space probe completed the first flyby of Pluto in the history of human spaceflight.
The world's first fully-functional space shuttle, Columbia, was delivered to the JFK Space Center.
Mars had a 'close encounter' with Earth at 34.8 million miles apart.
